“There is absolutely no question that the hotels developing spa facilities are prospering,” said Christopher Dauer, Editor-in-Chief of Spa Business Monthly. “The evidence is overwhelming.” 

“In a recent survey of resort/hotel managers by Health Fitness Dynamics, 97% of managers said that a spa was a marketing advantage, 83% said that it increased their revenues per occupied room, and 73% said that having a spa in their property increased their occupancy rates. Forty-three percent agreed that a spa increased guests’ length of stay; 57% replied that the spa increased their room rate and 70% said that it enhanced the perceived value for the room rate,” noted Dauer.

“We see that spas give our properties a competitive edge,” said Maureen Callahan, Vice President for regional sales and marketing of Englewood, CO-based Destination Hotels Resorts, which runs 24 hotels and resorts in the U.S. and Great Britain. “Typically, anywhere from 25 to 50 percent of hotel guests use the spa and fitness facilities in our properties that offer them. Both individual and group travelers have come to expect a spa in the resort they are visiting, and we are working hard to make sure that our hotels have top-class spa facilities.” 

Among Destination’s properties are the Eden Roc Resort Spa in Miami Beach, which boasts a 55,000 square-foot health club and spa with nine treatment rooms, and L’Auberge del Mar, a “boutique hotel and spa” in Del Mar, CA. “L’Auberge del Mar’s spa is only 22,000 square feet,” said Ms. Callahan. “But it is a top facility, offering eight different kinds of massage, six types of facials, hydrotherapy, and a number of body wraps and baths.” 

“Hotels are anxious to add spas to their properties because they are working hard to meet guest expectations,” said Patty Monteson, owner of Pompano Beach, FL-based Health Fitness Dynamics, Inc., which plans and manages health spas for fine hotels and resorts. 

“Hotels are trying to catch up to their guests’ needs. And surveys illustrate that they are gaining ground. That’s important, because our research shows that more than four in five guests choose one resort over another because of the availability of a spa.” 

Spa services at the Hyatt Resorts in the U.S. and the Caribbean “always offer more than the standard manicure and back rub because the sophistication of today’s traveler is growing,” according to Victor Lopez, divisional vice president. 

Mr. Lopez added that the chain continually develops new treatment indigenous to each resort’s location, incorporating ingredients and traditions to create exceptional experiences.  Mr. Lopez also noted that the development costs for hotel spas is significant compared to the revenues they produce, a view shared by the vast majority of those organizations that have developed facilities. 

Day and destination spas are now a part of a multi-billion dollar industry, with more players entering the business every day.